PEACE PREVAILS

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Thursday, 11 July 2013

THE CURSE OF BEING USEFULL, AND THE BLESSINGS BEYOND IT.

The ballads of being useful - finishing up papers at Kebun Rupa.

Last June was crazy, but not without blessings in disguise.

First, there was the haze. Nonetheless it was tame in comparison to the haze hell I went through when I was in Sarawak before, in the late 90s.

Then, I had to fulfill a new routine of attending Board meeting for the National Visual Art Gallery of (NVAG) Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, followed by meetings with officials from one or two departments in NVAG, depending on the available time, or my fluctuating mood. I had to chair the innovation and research sub-committee of the Board, so I had to persistently collect pertinent data from all the departments before suggesting any form of innovation. The enigma of being a Board member, and the stigma that follows, would perhaps be spicy conversation materials to reminisce when I'm retired totally from the arts in the future.

Thirdly, I had to prepare a presentation on the Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF) USM where I used to be the Director from 2005 until 2012. The presentation was meant for a roundtable discussion on Art Institutions at the Petronas Gallery. My instinct told me to skip because it didn't feel right to present the paper when the new Director was also invited to present (since we didn't really discuss the papers, we might be presenting two conflicting directions, and that will not look good for USM).

Forth, there was this "Aliran Semasa" or "Rearview Forward", a talk, seminar and fringe exhibitions on new media art in Malaysia, organized by the Education wing of NVAG, and spearheaded by its indefatigable curator Koon with the help from Yap Sau Bin, a lecturer at the Multimedia University. Initially I didn't want to get too much involved, I told them that I would rather be an observer. But it was easier said than done. The seminar was partly the brainchild of Roopesh Sitharan, a young and restless new media art researcher-writer-curator-artist currently based in London as a Phd candidate at Goldsmith. Both Koon and Roopesh were the alumni of Sonneratia Youth Art Camp, a creative survival camp I used to direct back in the early 2000. So when they requested me to step up and be one of the panels and to moderate a session, I can't say no. Plus, it would not be nice to stay aside when Roopesh and Koon had worked so hard in bringing back my long lost friend Niranjan Rajah all the way from Vancouver, Canada to spice up the seminar.

Fifth, I had to put up a simple installation piece for an exhibition called "Kembara Jiwa" at the Chandan Gallery, Publika. Initially I thought of putting up my recent digital print series. But that would not be relevant to the title and spirit of the show, which has to do with a sojourn or travel experience outside Malaysia. Since the show will travel to Fukuoka, Japan, it would be more fitting to put up a special work based on my experience as a Researcher-in-residence at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum for three months in 2003. Would be nice too to bring the work back to Fukuoka after ten years.

Throughout all these, I also had to complete a long overdue (3 years actually, ya, crazy) report on New Media Art in Malaysia and Brunei, which I had to present in Bandung in the first of July.

On top of the craziness, I had three undergraduate theses and final exam papers to grade!

All these, in the last two weeks of June.

I had to drive down to KL for the Board Meeting, but was lucky when my buddy Andy was kind enough to drive me back to Penang for him to hang out at Kebun Rupa, and for me to prepare my report and presentation on New Media Art in Malaysia, my presentation for the "Aliran Semasa" seminar, and to finish up my installation for "Kembara Jiwa".

Andy drove me back to KL on Sunday. I survived the "Aliran Semasa", met my old friend Niranjan and presented my paper on Tuesday, moderated a session the next day, installed my work and drove back (no Andy this time) to Penang on Friday, bought a return ticket to KL for the next day (the organizer in Bandung only provided tickets from KL-Bandung-KL). The next day on Saturday, I took the last Air-Asia flight to KL at 11.45 pm, stayed at LCCT until 6.30 am on Sunday for the early flight to Bandung. In the meantime, I was still working on my paper and power-point.

By the time I reached Bandung around 7.30 am on Sunday 30th. June, and picked up by Sarah and Maya (two students from ITB), I was already high and ready to doze off. Still, I had to wait at the hotel lobby until 2.30 pm to check in. Kind Sarah and Maya bought me my favorite 'pecel lele' for lunch. I literally finished my paper (still a draft) while waiting to check in. The hotel nonetheless, was more than comfortable. It was exclusive, not surprising since it was sponsored by ASEAN COCI. The seminar at Bandung would require another blog entry.

Why am I telling this? Well, this is the curse of being 'useful'. I'm beginning to grow a dislike for being so busy and away from my wife, my three daughters and my parents. Ironically, I used to enjoy it before, but now, not anymore. Silently I wished to be useless and be nothing. Andy gave a tarrot reading of me at his apartment when I was in KL, whacked me with his usual wit and twist on being 'useful', but not without stressing the 'blessings' beyond all the hooo-haaaa of 'fulfilling' one's usefulness (or even 'uselessness').

So what's the blessings?...that will be reserved for those who are willing to drop by at Kebun Rupa and submit to its vibrations.

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PORTFOLIO & CV/RESUME

BIODATA

Associate Professor of electronic and new media arts, transmedia explorer and jolly good bundles of energy in myriads of continuously emerging positive frequencies. A stubborn idealist, persistent gardener of fine heart and mindfull neural innernet through his Kebun Jiwa Halus. Love and happy to connect with likewise frequencies within and across the vast transhuman universal consciousness. He feels that humanity as a form of neural network is currently experiencing a toxic discharge of healing crisis, a prelude for post info-age global awakening and return to quantum Oneness. He is currenty mastering the zen of doing no-thing, whilst enjoying the bliss of being and living in the moment of now and every now.

BAYANG PANJANG (LONG SHADOW)

The youngest son of Saidon Pandak Noh and Jamaliah Noordin, Hasnul received his initial Diploma in Art & Design (Fine Art) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 1988, followed by a BFA in Painting from Southern Illinois University USA in 1991 and an MFA in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA in 1993.

Throughout his creative practice, Hasnul has been engaged in various states of trans-disciplinary and multi-dimensional being. Amongst them include working in painting, drawing, installation, digital print, video and new media art, exhibition design, stage design, graphic and communication design. Known as one of the early proponents of electronic, video and new media art in Malaysia and South East Asia, Hasnul has also participated in many international and local exhibitions and screenings, including for example, the 2nd. Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane Australia. His works have been exhibited and screened in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Hawaii, Republic of Cezch, Denmark, Spain, Sweeden, Canada and the United States of America.

Hasnul's key academic contribution centered around devising and teaching courses that merge creative practice, new media technology with critical theories and cultural studies such as media & process, expanded media, electronic art, advanced electronic art, new media theory and criticism, history of new media, digital design, cross-cultural design and experimental video at several key institutions of higher learning in Malaysia which include UiTM, UNIMAS, Cenfad and USM. Hasnul had also taught drawing and painting at these institutions.

Hasnul's intellectual and academic contributions can be traced through his appointment as the Head of Fine Art Program (1997-1998) and Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Applied & Creative Arts, UNIMAS (1999-2000); Head of Design & New Media department at Cenfad (2000-2001); Chairman of Design Department (2003-2004), Deputy Dean of Arts & Cultural Development (2004-2005) at the School of the Arts, USM ; Director of Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF, Tuanku Fauziah Museum & Gallery) USM (2005-2012). He was also the Vice-President of UMnet interim committee (University Museum Network Southeast Asia) (2010-1011), board member of the Penang State Museum & Gallery (2006-2012), a member of the National Visual Art Development Board (2012-2013) and a panel member of the National Heritage Objects (Fine Art) (2010-2012).

He has a vast practical and hands-on experience in visual art education and curriculum development as implied by his appointment as the chairman of curriculum design development committees for degree programs in Integrated Arts at UNIMAS (1997) and New Media Design & Technology at USM (2004), advisory panel, program and course evaluator for proposed Diploma in Animation at ASWARA (2011), degree program in Visual Art Technology at UMS (2012) , key courses in Creative Technology & Heritage Program UMK (2011) and UPSI (2004), external examiner for undergraduate projects and graduate theses for UM, UNIMAS and UMS (since 2006) and curriculum development panel member for Fine Art Program, UNIMAS (1994-1998), New Media Design, Cenfad (2000), Visual Art Technology Program, UMS (2004), and Fine art Program, ASWARA(2006). Hasnul had also been invited several times as a visiting lecturer in Media & Process and Expanded Media at UNIMAS. These programs have churned out new generations of lecturers, researchers, art administrators, curators, designers, writers and visual artists who are playing critical roles in their respective field of work. In fact, three of the graduates from UNIMAS have become heads of department at three major universities in Malaysia.

Hasnul's services in the field of creative practice and visual art are attested by his appointment as the Director and Chairman of Sparkles in Penang for 1MCAT (1 Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism) 2010, Insights Penang for 1MCAT 2011 and reGENEration Penang 1MCAT 2012. He has also been sought after for his advise, consultation and expertise on many different dimensions of creative practice and visual art in Malaysia by individuals, schools, organizations, private and government institutions. He has also contributed significantly in the success of several visual artists in Malaysia through his curatorial works and writings.

Hasnul has written and edited several books and numerous articles on different aspects of contemporary art practice in Malaysia. His research interests include electronic, video and new media art practice in Malaysia, trans-disciplinary practice and the convergence of the arts and sciences, creativity and spirituality, curatorial paradigm, exhibition design and technology, audience research, collection management, museum and gallery transformation. In 2003, he was awarded a researcher in residence grant by the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan, to study new media art practice in Japan. Hasnul has also been invited as a lead researcher, guest writer and curator for several exhibition projects by the National Visual Art Gallery of Malaysia as well as numerous other public and private galleries. He had presented his papers in many countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines, Japan and China.

From 2005 until 2012, Hasnul expanded his frequencies into the domain of obscured dwellers in the vicinity of MGTF USM, Penang, under the pretext of his position then as the Director of the Museum. For seven years, MGTF USM was his creative playground, experimental site, research lab and data repository for a sustainable museum & gallery transformation.

Hasnul’s favorite creative interference is performing his own song and composition in small-scale concerts to keep his romantic side alive and healthy. When life is more forgiving, Hasnul can be seen tending his garden or decorating his home. He is also a full-time husband, blessed with a faithful wife and three beautiful princesses.

When his quantum fluctuations are silenced, Hasnul likes to reflects upon the fact that his creative practice had at times saved him from his own self, his fluctuating temperament, lousy self financial management and unpredictable compulsion.